Liposuction May Be Good for Your Heart

When it came out that red wine could help your heart, winos everywhere celebrated with - what else? - a glass of red wine! Well forget the adding calories for a healthier ticker. A new study shows that liposuction may help your heart health, too.

Presented at the (currently in session) American Society of Plastic Surgeons meeting, the study says that liposuction and tummy tuck patients experienced a significant reduction in triglyceride levels -- an average drop of 43% -- and white blood cell counts.

The prospective study looked at 322 consecutive patients (270 women and 52 men) who came in for liposuction and/or a tummy tuck. One reason [the study's author] Swanson didn’t expect to see a strong link between liposuction and triglyceride levels was that most of the patients — 78 percent — were in the normal to overweight range. Just 22 percent were obese.

So should we all go and suck out our fat to help our hearts? Probably not.

"Liposuction is body contouring SURGERY," says Boston plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Delia. "It is most beneficial in patients closest to their ideal body who continue to be concerned about areas that continue to be disproportionate. Candidates are generally healthy with no significant medical problems."

But will the results last? We'll have to wait and see. Until then, let's keep drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate in hopes of similar benefits. Or go running...it's been said that helps too.